Convertible brassiere

ABSTRACT

A brassiere in which the upper cup portion and cradle straps may be moved beneath the breast to result in exposing the nipple, therefore creating a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;no bra&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; appearance.

United States Patent 1191 UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1959 Baer 128/477 X .DeFru Oct. 9, 1973 [54] CONVERTIBLE BRAS SIERE I 3,149,635 9/1964 Garutso 128/510 X 3,075,530 1/1963 Smith 128/510 X [76] P C- Den, Buena 3,115,141 12/1963 Means et a1.. 128/510 x V'Sta Burbank, Callf- 91505 3,244,175 4/1966 Sturges 128/511 x 3,439,682 4/1969 DeFru 128/510 X [22] June 1972 3,527,231 9/1970 Catanese et a1. 128/484 [21] App]. N01: 258,502

Primary Examiner-Wemer H. Schroeder [52] US. Cl 128/465, 128/484, 128/510, Attorney-Robert E. Geauque 128/512 [51] Int. Cl. A41c 3/00 [58] Field of Search 128/465, 469, 473, ABSTRACT 128,477 4 A brassiere in which the upper cup portion and cradle straps may be moved beneath the breast to result in [56] References Cited exposing the nipple, therefore creating a no bra appearance.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures v PAIENIED [181 9 I975 SHU 10F 2 PATENTED 1 73 SHEF 26? 2 CONVERTIBLE BRASSIERE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The primary purpose of a brassiere is to provide support to. the wearer thereby hiding the appearance of sagging breasts. Sagging breasts are directly related to the age of the woman and also the size of the breasts. In other words, the more advanced the woman's age plus the larger the breasts, the more likely the breasts are to sag.

The current clothing styles are designed toward exposing the breast which can be termed the no bra" look. However, older women as well as larger breasted women find it difficult to comply with the current styles because of their lack of firmness in their breasts. It would be desirable to design a form of brassiere which could give the no bra" appearance but yet provided sufficient breast support to uplift the breasts.

Additionally some clothing styles do not require the no bra appearance. Therefore, a conventional brassiere would be desirable at times. It would thereforebe desirable to design a brassiere which could be employed as a conventional brassiere and can also be readily converted to a brassiere which can give the no bra" appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The convertible brassiere of this invention employs the use of a cradle strap located above each of the cups of the brassiere. Each of the cradle straps is connected to a connecting band between the cups with the free end of each cradle strap connected to the lateral edge of a cup. A shoulder strap is connected to each of the cradle straps and is adjustable longitudinally therealong. The upper section of each of the cups .is not connected in any way to a cradle strap and can be readily folded, if desired, interiorly of the lower section of its respective cup. At the same time, the wearer is to move the shoulder strap adjacent a lateral edge of the cup which permits the cradle strap to also be located adjacent the lower section of its respective cup and therefore beneath the breast. Each of the respective cradle straps thereby provide uplifting support for the breasts. Therefore the brassiere of this invention can be employed as a conventional brassiere or be employed as merely an uplifting device if a bare-bosomed appearance is desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a front view of the brassiere of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an interior view of the brassiere of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view of the brassiere of this invention showing how such would be employed as a conventional brassiere;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view through one of the cups of the brassiere of this invention taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary font view of the brassiere of this invention showing how such can be readily converted to give the no bra" appearance; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 5 showing how such could be employed by a user to give the no bra appearance.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SHOWN EMBODIMENT Referring particularly to the drawings, there is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 a brassiere 10 of this invention being employed in a conventional manner. Brassiere l0 generally includes adjacent cup portions 12 and 14. Each cup portion 12 and 14 includes an upper section 16 formed of a fabric material and a lower section 18 formed of a plurality of layers of material. Each of the upper sections 16 are to be formed of a two-way stretch material. The reason for this is to provide comfort to the wearer during movement. Each of the lower sections 18 includes an inner band 20 which is adapted to come into contact with the body of the wearer, a reinforcing layer 22 sewn to the inner layer 20, and an outer layer 24 which is attached to both the inner layer 20 and the reinforcing layer 22.

The inner layer 20 is designed so as to transmit a lifting force to the breasts. Additionally by the construction of the inner layer 20, this lifting force takes strain off of the shoulder straps of the brassiere of this invention. Further the inner layer 20 is designed to exert a continuous lifting force no matter what position the wearer assumes and prevent any breast flesh from moving down and getting behind the inner layer 20.

The reinforcing layer 22 is to normally be composed of dual layers of material with reinforcing ribs 26 located in between the two layers of material. The reinforcing ribs normally comprise pieces of plastic and are readily used within brassieres to provide support for the breasts. Within this invention there are three such reinforcing ribs 26 being employed within each cup portion 12 and 14. However, the number of reinforcing ribs can be readily varied as well as their complete elimination. Additionally, the material construction of such ribs may be other than plastic and could compose a bone material or a metallic material.

The cup portions 12 and 14 are connected together through a connecting band 28. The connecting band 28 includes the use of a reinforcing material 30. The reinforcing material 30 is to be deformable and once deformed retains the deformed shape. The material 30 is also to be sufficiently rigid enough to provide some uplift support to the breasts. A particular wearer of the brassiere of this invention is to manually deform the material 30 adjacent the wearers breast bone so as to cause the center portion of the brassiere to be located adjacent the breast bone of the wearer and to be comfortable as well as provide uplifting support for the wearer. The height of the connecting band 28 is selected so as to actually be below the nipple height of the breast. This permits the wearer to wear low-cut dresses without fear of exposing the brassiere.

Cup portion 12 is connected to a lateral support band 32 with cup portion 14 being connected to a lateral support band 34. Lateral support band 32 is to normally include a reinforcing rib, not shown, with the lateral support band 34 also including a reinforcing rib, not shown. Connected to the lateral support band 32 is a back strap 36 and connected to the lateral support band 34 is a back strap 38. The back strap 36 includes a clasp 40 which is adapted to fit within apertures 42 of the back strap 38 so as to connect the back straps together when placed about the back of the wearer.

It is to be noted as is apparent from the drawings that the lateral support bands 32 and 34 are inclined a certain amount as compared to the connecting band 28. This inclination of the straps 32 and 34 is so that the back sttaps 36 and 38 are to move around the wearer as low as possible about the wearers torso. By keeping the back straps 36 and 38 as low as possible, a force is exerted upon the back straps due to their being passed around a smaller portion of the torso which tends to prevent the back straps from riding up." Additionally, it is desirable to have the back straps 36 and 38 be as low as possible so as to give the wearer an opportunity to wear low-back dresses.

Connected between the connecting band 28 and the lateral support band 32 is a first cradle strap 44. Connected between the connecting band 28 and the lateral support band 34 is a second cradle strap 46. The straps 44 and 46, when the brassiere is used in the conventional manner, are located above their respective upper sections 16 as shown in H6. 1 of the drawings. A ring 48 is located about the first cradle strap 44 with the ring 50 being located about the second cradle strap 46. A shoulder strap 52 is also passed through the ring 48 with a shoulder strap 54 being passed through the ring 50. The shoulder strap 52 includes an adjustable buckle 56 and with the shoulder strap 54 including an adjustable buckle 58. The adjustable buckles 56 and 58 are to provide longitudinal adjustment of the shoulder straps 52 and 54. The free end of the shoulder strap 52 is connected to the back strap 36 with the free end of the shoulder strap 54 being connected to the back strap The wearing of the brassiere of this invention is as follows: To wear the brassiere of this invention in the conventional manner reference may be had in particular to FIG. 3 of the drawings. The brassiere is worn with the upper section 16 of each of the cups in the up position and with the rings 48 and 50 located intermediate the length of its respective cradle strap 44 or 46. Adequate support is being provided with the uplifting force being mainly transmitted through the shoulder straps 52 and 54.

Now let it be assumed that the wearer desires to wear the brassiere of this invention to give a no bra appearance. The wearer first puts the brassiere on in the conventional manner. The wearer then moves firstly one of the rings 48 or 50 adjacent its lateral band, either 32 or 34 respectively. The wearer then locates the particular cradle strap 44 or 46 within the respective lower portion 18 of the brassiere and beneath the breast of the wearer. The wearer then folds the upper section 16 upon the lower portion 18 until the wearers nipples 60 are exposed. The upper sections 16 are maintained in this lower position due to the uplifting force of the brassiere. With the cradle straps 44 and 46 located beneath the breasts, these straps are now employed to assist in uplifting of the breasts and actually accentuates the protuberance of the nipples 60 over the top of the brassiere. This uplifting force is provided to the cradle straps 44 and 46 through its respective shoulder straps 52 and 54.

The wearer may also locate the cradle straps as shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings but may fold the upper sections 16 below the breast as shown in FIG. of the drawings. In essence the wearer has an option of how the brassiere of this invention may be employed.

To give the wearer comfort when wearing the brassiere of this invention, the cradle straps 44 and 46 include an elastic section 62 and 64, respectively. Also the connecting of the shoulder straps 52 and 54 to the respective back straps 36 and 38 is accomplished through a respective elastic section 66 and 68. Additionally, for comfort the entire back straps 36 and 38 are to be formed of elastic material.

What is claimed is:

l. A convertible brassiere comprising:

a pair of cup portions connected together, each of said cup portions including an upper section and a lower section, each of said upper portions to normally cover an upper portion of a breast, each of said lower portions to cover the lower portion of a breast, each of said upper sections being foldable upon its respective said lower section and to be located between the breast and said lower section thereby exposing the nipple;

back strap means connected to said cup portions and being adapted to extend around the back of the wearer;

shoulder strap means connected between said back strap means and said cup portions, said shoulder strap means being adapted to extend over the shoulders of the wearer;

a cradle strap connected to each side of each of said cup portions and adapted to extend thereacross, a respective one of said shoulder straps being connected to a respective said cradle strap through a connecting means, each of said connecting means being movable along its respective said cradle strap, each of said cradle straps being foldable to a position adjacent the lower portion of its respective said breast;

each of said lower sections including an interior layer and an intermediate layer of material, each of said layers formed of a plurality of plies of material, said intermediate layer of material to include strengthening ribs of a rigid material located between the plies of that said layer, whereby the combination of said intermediate layer and said interior layer provides an upward lifting force to the breasts;

each of said cup portions being connected together through a connecting band, said connecting band including a non-memory deformable material whereby a wearer can snugly position said connecting band adjacent the wearers breast bone for reasons of comfort and support.

2. The brassiere as defined in claim 1 wherein:

said back strap means includes a pair of back straps with one of said back straps being connected to one of said cup portions and the other of said back straps being connected to the other of said cup portions, the connection of each said back strap to its respective cup portion being accomplished through a lateral support band, each of said lateral support bands are located at an angle with respect to its respective said back strap so that said back straps will extend across the back of the wearer as low as possible. 

1. A convertible brassiere comprising: a pair of cup portions connected together, each of said cup portions including an upper section and a lower section, each of said upper portions to normally cover an upper portion of a breast, each of said lower portions to cover the lower portion of a breast, each of said upper sections being foldable upon its respective said lower section and to be located between the breast and said lower section thereby exposing the nipple; back strap means connected to said cup portions and being adapted to extend around the back of the wearer; shoulder strap means connected between said back strap means and said cup portions, said shoulder strap means being adapted to extend over the shoulders of the wearer; a cradle strap connected to each side of each of said cup portions and adapted to extend therEacross, a respective one of said shoulder straps being connected to a respective said cradle strap through a connecting means, each of said connecting means being movable along its respective said cradle strap, each of said cradle straps being foldable to a position adjacent the lower portion of its respective said breast; each of said lower sections including an interior layer and an intermediate layer of material, each of said layers formed of a plurality of plies of material, said intermediate layer of material to include strengthening ribs of a rigid material located between the plies of that said layer, whereby the combination of said intermediate layer and said interior layer provides an upward lifting force to the breasts; each of said cup portions being connected together through a connecting band, said connecting band including a non-memory deformable material whereby a wearer can snugly position said connecting band adjacent the wearer''s breast bone for reasons of comfort and support.
 2. The brassiere as defined in claim 1 wherein: said back strap means includes a pair of back straps with one of said back straps being connected to one of said cup portions and the other of said back straps being connected to the other of said cup portions, the connection of each said back strap to its respective cup portion being accomplished through a lateral support band, each of said lateral support bands are located at an angle with respect to its respective said back strap so that said back straps will extend across the back of the wearer as low as possible. 